Australia still has a conscience

Yesterday the nation's capital cities played host to a bunch of Rally for Refugee events, in which several thousand people got all weird about how we're jailing people for asking for our help and then either sending them home to die or letting them rot in countries with terrible human rights records like Papau New Guinea or, possibly, Cambodia. And yes, we've talked about this before - but seriously, doesn't that sound weird every time you hear it? "Resettle asylum seekers in Cambodia"? Surely it's better to pick a place that isn't itself a large exporter of refugees before we start restocking their shelves, right?

Anyway: one of the nicer things happened in Perth where Labor senator Sue Lines did the thing that most Labor politicians have been a bit too fucking timid to do and spoke out, saying that the current policy is "inhumane".

"There is a number of Labor politicians who are now speaking out," she declared. "What we want to do within Labor is create a movement for change."

Yeah, can you get on with that? It'd be good to have an opposition who actually opposes things to which it should be opposed, y'know, and it might be a nice step toward Labor being the mainstream party of conscience.

The actual party of conscience, the Greens, were also representin' with Sarah Hanson-Young speaking in Melbourne and saying the blindingly obvious things like "Many Australians want our parliament to find a kinder, more compassionate refugee policy. It's time to stop playing politics with the lives of vulnerable people and to end the war against refugees, who are simply asking our nation for a helping hand." Power, meet Truth.

Still, that contrasts neatly with the video above, in which Lieutenant General Angus Campbell - a man who has dedicated his life to serving and protecting this nation and its people - gets to tell people that are asking us to save their lives that they can go fuck themselves. He must feel enormously proud that a career of excellent service and sacrifice has led to this. After everything he's done, this is what he'll be remembered for.

nicko wrote:you don't pay tax you aussie scrounger,you sit in your Sydney slum guzzling 4x.

nicko wrote:you do same jd, so stop creeping.

Joy Division wrote:

nicko wrote:you do same jd, so stop creeping.

Na, I've never said that to any of our Aussie members Nicko, it's just assumptions your making chief..it might be Fosters Bee drinks!

Tbh Nicko, I've never heard if Sydney having slums man, but I could be wrong...how do you know Bee doesn't life in a large bungalow with a pool in the garden?...I mean they have the climate for it, whereas we don't .

We must also remember Australia has been a great Allie of ours past and present...we should recognize that.

BigAndy9 wrote:

Joy Division wrote:

Na, I've never said that to any of our Aussie members Nicko, it's just assumptions your making chief..it might be Fosters Bee drinks!

Tbh Nicko, I've never heard if Sydney having slums man, but I could be wrong...how do you know Bee doesn't life in a large bungalow with a pool in the garden?...I mean they have the climate for it, whereas we don't .

We must also remember Australia has been a great Allie of ours past and present...we should recognize that.

Because he's posted it all over the internet.


edit:  that's not me saying he lives in a slum - whatever he lives in, it's his castle.

Joy Division wrote:

BigAndy9 wrote:

Because he's posted it all over the internet.


edit:  that's not me saying he lives in a slum - whatever he lives in, it's his castle.

...what?, that he is a ' scrounger' living off the government with no intention of working as well as drinking everyday Andy?

Bee said that about himself???

Joy Division wrote:


...what?, that he is a ' scrounger' living off the government with no intention of working as well as drinking everyday Andy?

Bee said that about himself???

Sorry - just the highlighted part.

nicko wrote:you don't pay tax you aussie scrounger,you sit in your Sydney slum guzzling 4x.

Ben_Reilly wrote:BUH-BUT HOW WILL YOU AFFORD ALL THE SCROUNGERS? DUUURRRRR ...

To pick a different country for an example, the U.K. in 2013 spent 85 billion pounds (sorry, I don't have that symbol on my keyboard) on welfare benefits for working-aged people. That's just five years after it spent 10 times that amount -- far in excess of a normal year's total government budget -- at once, bailing out the banks.

Here's an idea -- poor people cost governments far less than rich people do.

veya_victaous wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:BUH-BUT HOW WILL YOU AFFORD ALL THE SCROUNGERS? DUUURRRRR ...

To pick a different country for an example, the U.K. in 2013 spent 85 billion pounds (sorry, I don't have that symbol on my keyboard) on welfare benefits for working-aged people. That's just five years after it spent 10 times that amount -- far in excess of a normal year's total government budget -- at once, bailing out the banks.

Here's an idea -- poor people cost governments far less than rich people do.

by paying my fair share of tax   

money is NOT the issue quite to opposite we are paying MORE to have them processed in one of our 3rd world neighbours.
It is a Media Circus that is starting to collapse as people are starting to look at facts and not over hyped media beat ups. It simply costs us more and we get a worse result for the lie that what we are currently doing is better than letting them risk their lives trying to get to Australia by boat.

veya_victaous wrote:@JD
what is 'Fosters'? we don't sell that here

                  

Harvesting Fosters

Ben_Reilly wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:@JD
what is 'Fosters'? we don't sell that here

                  

Harvesting Fosters

I think John Cleese called it Near-Frozen Gnat Urine ... yeah, that pretty much describes our top beer brands, it's the reason Foster's sells in the U.S.  ::D:: 

Ben_Reilly wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:BUH-BUT HOW WILL YOU AFFORD ALL THE SCROUNGERS? DUUURRRRR ...

To pick a different country for an example, the U.K. in 2013 spent 85 billion pounds (sorry, I don't have that symbol on my keyboard) on welfare benefits for working-aged people. That's just five years after it spent 10 times that amount -- far in excess of a normal year's total government budget -- at once, bailing out the banks.

Here's an idea -- poor people cost governments far less than rich people do.

by paying my fair share of tax   

money is NOT the issue quite to opposite we are paying MORE to have them processed in one of our 3rd world neighbours.
It is a Media Circus that is starting to collapse as people are starting to look at facts and not over hyped media beat ups. It simply costs us more and we get a worse result for the lie that what we are currently doing is better than letting them risk their lives trying to get to Australia by boat.

Joking hombre, you know me ...